Feb 24

February 24, 2017

I'm celebrating my 15th anniversary with Stampin' Up! by Paula Cannon at www.vintageandfresh.com

My 15 year journey with Stampin’ Up! – My first workshops

Last month I began sharing my Stampin’ Up! journey as a fun way to celebrate my 15th anniversary as a demonstrator. I explained how I met my upline and decided to join. You can read that post here.

The next step? Hold my first workshop, or party. Um, I hadn’t really thought about that. So I did what most of you would do: I called my sister and my best friend. It went something like this. Guess what I just did? I signed up as a demonstrator with Stampin’ Up! How would like to help me out and host a party? Thankfully they both said yes!

That was the easy part. Now I had to figure out how to hold a party.

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Feb 10

February 10, 2017

Card using Baby Bear and Timeless Texture stamp sets in a vintage style. Created by Paula Cannon for www.vintageandfresh.com

The Timeless Baby Bear is Just Too Cute

I may be in love with the Baby Bear. This set immediately caught my eye when I saw it last summer in the new annual catalog. But it took awhile for me to buy it. Then it took awhile for me to use it. But now that I’ve finally made a few cards, I just may be in love. Why? It’s just too cute. I love the photorealism look of the three-step image. It makes him look so real and soft and cuddly.

This card is one I designed for my Monthly Stamp Class. I wanted to do a vintage card, so of course I paired it with the Timeless Texture stamp set. I used paper from the Cupcakes & Carousels designer series paper and added some lace.

Card using Baby Bear and Timeless Texture stamp sets in a vintage style. Created by Paula Cannon for www.vintageandfresh.com

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Feb 3

February 3, 2017

Detail of Dragonfly Dreams thank you card designed by Paula Cannon at www.vintageandfresh.com

Thanks for Dragonfly Dreams (and a prize winner!)

January has ended so it’s time to announce the winner of my 15th Anniversary drawing. Congrats to Kay who will be getting the classic Milestone Moments stamp set! February’s prize will be one of my new favorites, the Cupcakes & Carousels Designer Series Paper Stack, paired with the Cupcakes & Carousels Embellishment Kit. Read about my monthly drawings here.

Prize for my February 15th Anniversary Drawing at www.vintageandfresh.com

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Jan 31

January 31, 2017

Card using Mixed Drinks and Delicate Details stamp sets from Stampin' Up!; designed by Paula Cannon for www.vintageandfresh.com

Friends who don’t let friends stamp or wine alone

A few weeks ago I spent a fun Saturday stamping with friends. I love getting together with these ladies. I’ve gotten to know them through Stampin’ Up! because we are all in the same demonstrator group. One of the many benefits I’ve enjoyed as a demo. We share ideas, we share our adventures, our joys and problems, but mostly we laugh and have a lot of fun!

For this get-together we had two swaps planned and lunch. In addition we usually have one Make & Take project. As one of the co-hosts for this event, I volunteered to design this one. Since we were also having a surprise “stock the bar” wedding shower for Diana, I had to use the Mixed Drinks stamp set. Right?

We usually keep the Make & Take fairly simple. I knew I wanted to use the friends don’t let friends wine alone saying. Once it occurred to me to use the Delicate Details stamps (from the Sale-a-Bration catalog) as a sort of tablecloth image, the design fell right into place.


Tip: One of the nice things about photopolymer stamps is that you can put them together on one block. I lined up these two stamps so they were even. Then just ink it up and stamp.

How to position two photopolymer stamps on one clear block, from www.vintageandfresh.com


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Jan 25

January 25, 2017

I'm celebrating my 15th anniversary with Stampin' Up! by Paula Cannon at www.vintageandfresh.com

My 15 year journey with Stampin’ Up! – How I met Mimi

I’ve owned stamps for a very long time. Of all the various crafts I’ve done, I just like paper and stamps. Several years ago I talked my sister into going to a stamp convention with me (anyone remember the Rubber Stamp Harvest events?) Among the vendors was a Stampin’ Up! booth with a charming young lady named Mimi Henwood. We chatted briefly and I politely  declined to add my name to her mailing list because I didn’t want someone pestering me. But I loved that she had all kinds of stamped things, not just cards. One of the things I like about stamping is that you can stamp on just about anything. So I did take her handouts. And several months later I called her.

She invited me to her next team meeting, where I met some wonderful women and used Stampin’ Up! products for the first time. I was impressed with the quality of the stamps. I loved that everything coordinated, especially the colors. I had always been frustrated that I had five blue ink pads and three purples and none matched each other or the card stock. Argh! But not only did the Stampin’ Up! ink colors match the card stock colors, but the other colors played well together. Yes!

Photo of me and my upline Mimi at the 2005 Stampin' Up! convention.

Mimi and I at the 2005 Stampin’ Up! Convention

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